


Sing Me a Lullaby

by jenominn



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Fluff, He just wants to help Jaemin fall asleep :(, Insomnia, Jeno is a good boyfriend, Kissing, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, they eventually move in together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:21:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23870785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenominn/pseuds/jenominn
Summary: Jaemin has trouble falling asleep at night. He often calls Jeno, because hearing Jeno's voice is like a remedy. Yet Jaemin doesn't realize the constant calls are affecting Jeno's sleep too.But Jeno would never tell him that.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 366





	Sing Me a Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first ao3 nomin fic, i hope you like it!
> 
> i also make nomin aus on twt, if you'd like to check them out: @jenominau

Time is cruel.

It’s like it purposefully slowed down at night. The numbers on the clock would morph together. First it would be 1:00, then it would be two. Somehow it became three, even though it felt like it should be six--at least it felt like that to Jaemin. 

His mind was filled with heavy darkness when it should be filled with dreams. He wants to count sheep but the sheep always tell him too many stories to peacefully rest his mind.

On nights like these he calls his boyfriend. It’s becoming common now, and he’s grateful that he picks up everytime. He feels bad that he always wakes his boyfriend up but the sound of Jeno's voice was always the perfect remedy for sleep.

“Hello?”

His voice was raspy and deep; he obviously just woke up.

Jaemin didn’t answer. Facing his side, he put his phone down on the bed and hoped to hear the voice again through the speakers.

“Nana, you gotta sleep, baby.”

He let a few seconds of silence pass before responding, “I’m trying to, Jeno. I promise.”

His voice was almost shaky; he felt like crying. All he wanted to do was sleep. Was that so much to ask for?

“Do you wanna hear about my day?”

Jaemin nodded, even though he knew Jeno couldn’t see him. Jeno somehow always knew what Jaemin wanted.

“It was honestly a bit boring,” he started off. “I started my morning with visiting the laundry mat. Isn’t that exciting…”

Yes, the story of Jeno’s day was a bit of a snoozer. (No pun intended.) Yet Jaemin thrived of it. He was only attentive for the first part of his story, but Jeno’s words began to blend together in his mind as he listened to the voice he loves most.

The two boys were at Jeno’s apartment, studying for their exams. They sat on the couch in silence, too immersed into their separate subjects to create any conversation. Jeno was yawning throughout the entire session, and Jaemin just passed it off as boredom from studying.

Jaemin’s constant calls were affecting Jeno. But Jeno didn’t want to tell his boyfriend that. He knew Jaemin was struggling with sleep too, much more than him, and he hated seeing his boyfriend so tired all the time. It was almost every night Jaemin called him now, but he would sacrifice his own sleep if it meant his boyfriend could have some.

Sometimes the calls would last ten minutes, and sometimes they would last over an hour. However long it took, Jeno would never hang up until Jaemin fell all the way asleep.

The words on his textbook started to look like a blur. He tried to highlight his notes, but he ended up highlighting between two lines. This wasn’t working; this wasn’t efficient. He sighed, giving up. Jeno looked over to his boyfriend, instantly smiling at the confused look on his face from trying to solve one of the math problems. Although Jaemin’s calls were affecting him, he couldn’t get mad at his boyfriend. It was impossible to.

“Jaeminie,” Jeno softly said, catching the boy’s attention. The boy turned his head to look at Jeno. “I love you.”

Now the other boy was smiling. He closed his textbook and set it down on the coffee table, along with his notes. He took Jeno’s textbook and set it aside. Maneuvering his way onto Jeno’s lap, he didn’t hesitate to softly kiss his lips.

“I love you, too.”

Jaemin kissed him again, this time dragging it out. Kissing Jaemin always fogged up Jeno’s brain--Jaemin had such a wonderful effect on him--but it really wasn’t helping his sleepy state.

Jeno yawned into the kiss and Jaemin pulled back with a laugh, “Is kissing me that boring?”

Jeno rubbed his watery eyes, trying to look more alive, “Yes, that’s what it is.”

Jaemin giggled as Jeno laced their fingers together, “Studying is boring. I promise it isn’t because of you.”

But it _was_ because of him, and Jeno felt bad for lying. He would never tell Jaemin that, though.

Except one night he did.

Exams passed and Jeno didn’t do nearly as well as he hoped for. He wasn’t a perfectionist when it came to grades. He wasn’t somebody who would beat himself up about getting an A- or a B+, but his C he recieved on his Humanities exam wasn’t sitting well with him.

Sleep was all he wanted right now. He’s been in a shitty mood the whole day, and he was relieved that he could finally get it now that the night creeped over the sun's shoulder. Then about three hours later into his deep sleep, the sound of his phone ringing woke him up. He groaned, not bothering to answer, taking his pillow and covering it with his ears until the annoying ringing would stop.

“Not right now, Jaemin…” he growled, wanting to take his phone and smash it against a brick wall.

The ringing finally stopped and he let out a breath of relief. The silence almost took him into a deep sleep again but it wasn’t too long until it rang once more.

“Agh, my stupid fucking boyfriend!” he shouted, sitting up and grabbing his phone off of his bedside.

He answered the phone, “Stop fucking calling me, Jaemin! Okay? I don’t want to talk to you!”

Immediately realizing his aggressive words, he brought his free hand up and covered his mouth to stop himself from saying something else. He couldn’t believe he just said that to his own boyfriend--his own boyfriend that he loves so much, more than anything in the world.

“Jaemin, I’m so sorry, I’ve just been really stressed ou-”

“It’s okay,” his boyfriend interrupted him. His voice was still soft. “I’m sorry too. These calls have probably made you annoyed with me.”

Jeno could hear a sniffle on the other line, making his heartstrings snap. He just made his Nana cry.

“No, Jaemin, that’s not it at all, please listen to me-”

“You don’t have to come up with an excuse. Goodnight, Jeno.”

“Jaemin-”

But the call ended before he could say anything. He couldn’t fall asleep now. He couldn’t fall asleep knowing he left Jaemin hurt. Now he was the one calling Jaemin, but there was no answer. He was already feeling stressed enough and this did not make him feel any better.

Jeno would never intentionally hurt his Nana. He would never want to make his Nana cry. Jeno would do anything to make his boyfriend happy, anything to support him. Yet, for the first time out of the two years they’ve been dating, he made his Nana cry.

He went to his messages and typed out a long paragraph about his reasoning. He stared at his phone, waiting for any response, until a half an hour passed and he unconsciously fell asleep.

“Move in with me,” was the first thing Jeno said when Jaemin opened the door to his apartment the next day. He still didn’t get a text back, so he took the matter into his own hands. Guilt was eating at his stomach the whole day; he had to weather the storm he created.

“What?”

Jeno’s been thinking about this for a while, actually. His apartment was big enough for the two of them and Jaemin spent a majority of his time over there anyway. It would be a smart move financially for the both of them, especially considering that Jaemin’s been struggling to pay his rent recently, even for his small studio apartment.

He wasn’t planning to ask him today, nor tomorrow, and probably not even next month. Yet he thought it was appropriate to ask now.

“I want you to move in with me. I want you to get sleep. I want you to sleep by me each night, no more calls anymore. And you can cuddle me and I can cuddle you and we can fall asleep together. Move in with me, Na Jaemin.”

Jaemin was silent at the sudden proposal, trying to form his words, “Jeno… I’ve been… I’ve been making you lose sleep, too, haven’t I…”

Jeno walked into the apartment all the way and closed the door, putting his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, “Don’t you worry about me. I want you to feel better. This has been going on longer than it should have to. I don’t like hearing you cry each night because you can’t sleep. I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

Jaemin has always struggled with insomnia, longer than he can remember. It wasn’t until about six months into their relationship when he discovered that Jeno’s voice was the fastest way to make him fall asleep. He tried not to call him too much at first, the calls became gradual. During the past few months is when he really became addicted to calling Jeno.

“And that’s not the big reason why. I want to fall asleep by your side and I want to wake up each morning by your side. I want to eat dinner together everyday, I want to watch movies with you whenever you want, I want to shower with you and kiss you and make love to you whenever you want. Please move in with me, Nana. I love you so much.”

A few seconds later and a big smile finally made its way to his boyfriend's face. 

Jaemin nodded, “I would like that a lot.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll move in with me?”

“Yes, you dork,” Jaemin laughed, bringing his boyfriend in for a kiss.

It was the first day Jaemin moved in with Jeno, and they were all snuggled in their bed to go to sleep. Jeno had his nose pressed against Jaemin's shoulder while one of his arms was under Jaemin’s body and his other arm was over Jaemin’s waist, wrapping him in a big hug.

One of Jeno’s favorite things in the world was cuddling his boyfriend to sleep, knowing it always helped him with his insomnia. It also made him fall asleep faster too, simply being by his boyfriend was enough. They would only sleep over at each other’s apartments on the weekends because of university, and even then it wasn’t too often they did because of their busy schedules.

Jeno began telling him about what he learned in his cultural studies class. To Jaemin, it never really mattered what Jeno talked about at night. The sound of his voice was all he needed to fall asleep.

Months after living with Jeno, Jaemin didn’t find time cruel anymore.

It used to seem to pass so slowly, keeping him up at night, wondering if he’ll ever go asleep. When it wasn't night, he always felt time went by too fast. He was scared that his time with the world would pass by before he even knew it. 

But time feels perfect now.

Because Jaemin knew from being in love with Lee Jeno, time is something that is eternal.


End file.
